HACKENSACK, N.J. – The Fairleigh Dickinson men's basketball team opens a four-game homestand on Thursday night with a Valentine's Day tilt against Saint Francis U.
Thursday's game will air live on CBS Sports Network and inside the Rothman Center, the Knights will host "Love and Basketball Night".
Game 25
Fairleigh Dickinson (12-12, 7-5 NEC)
vs. Saint Francis U (12-11, 8-4 NEC)
Date: Thursday, February 14
Time: 6:05 PM
Location: Rothman Center (Hackensack, N.J.)
Coverage: Live Stats
TV: CBS Sports Network
Talent: Dave Popkin (PxP), Tim Capstraw (Color) and Paul Dottino (Sideline)
The Series
All-Time Series...48-44
at FDU..31-13
Last Five..2-3
Streak..W2
Last Meeting...Fairleigh Dickinson 79, Saint Francis U 61 (1/5/19 at SFU)
The Knights led by as many as 28 points and earned their first NEC win of the season.
Darnell Edge led the balanced attack with 17 points as the Knights registered five scorers in double figures.
Xzavier Malone-Key tallied 14 points and five assists,
Jahlil Jenkins and
Mike Holloway Jr. each netted 13 points and
Elyjah Williams totaled 10 points, five boards and four assists in the victory.
The team's balance spread to the glass, where Holloway, Williams and
Kaleb Bishop each nabbed five rebounds. At 57.9 percent from the field, the Knights logged their highest field goal percentage of the season and continued their defensive pressure by forcing the Red Flash to commit 18 turnovers. Senior guard Jamaal King topped the box score for the home team with 13 points on 5-of-9 shooting.
Opening Tip
- The Knights enter Thursday's tilt having won six of their last seven including an 11-point victory over St. Francis Brooklyn on Saturday, while the Red Flash carry a five-game winning streak.
- This is the second meeting between the Knights and Red Flash this season. FDU rolled to a 79-61 victory in Loretto back on January 5. In the win, the Knights led by as many as 28 points.
- The Knights currently trail the first-place Red Flash by one game in the NEC standings. Saint Francis U was picked to finish first in the NEC Preseason Coaches' Poll, while the Knights were picked second.
- At home this season, the Knights boast an 8-3 mark and are averaging 84 points per contest on 49.5% shooting, while out-scoring opponents by 8.2 points per game. They have also won four straight games inside the Rothman Center with their next four at home.
- The Knights lead the NEC in field goal percentage (46.7%), 3-point field goal percentage (38.4%), assist/turnover ratio (1.1), steals (8.0) and turnover margin (1.8).
- Over the last seven games, Darnell Edge is shooting 53 percent overall and 59.5 percent (22-of-37) from behind the arc. Edge leads the NEC in both 3-pt field goal percentage (43.7%) and free throw percentage (87.5%).
- Jahlil Jenkins (36.9 mpg) and Darnell Edge (36.8 mpg) rank first and second in the NEC in minutes played.
- Elyjah Williams is the NEC's leader in field goal percentage at 63.6 percent.
- Mike Holloway Jr. grabbed career rebound No. 700 in last week's loss at Sacred Heart. He now ranks seventh all-time in rebounding at FDU (709) and 12th in points (1,331).
The Coaches
- Head Coach Greg Herenda is in his sixth season at the helm of the Knights. Last season, the Knights enjoyed their third consecutive .500 or better season in NEC play as Herenda led the team to a 9-9 conference mark. Under Herenda, the Knights have qualified for the NEC Tournament in four of his five seasons, including a 2016 NEC Championship when the team earned a bid to the NCAA Tournament featuring the third-youngest team in the nation.
- Rob Krimmel is in his seventh season as head coach of the Red Flash and his his 18th season on the Red Flash bench following a successful playing career at Saint Francis. Krimmel amassed 79 wins in his first six seasons, ranking fourth in program history. In NEC play, Krimmel is 54-53 and has guided the Red Flash to five straight NEC Tournament appearances. Last season, he guided the team to an 18-win campaign, the most by a Saint Francis team since 1990-91. Krimmel received his Bachelor of Arts in Secondary Education and History with a Pre-Law Concentration from Saint Francis in 2000. He then earned his Masters of Education-Leadership from SFU in 2003.
Scouting Saint Francis U
The Red Flash are red hot, having won five straight games entering Thursday's tilt. They currently sit atop the NEC standings tied at 8-4 with Robert Morris. All-NEC First Team honoree, Keith Braxton leads the charge for the Red Flash and has been locked in over the last four games averaging 21.5 ppg, 7.0 rpg and 4.0 apg over his last four games. Braxton ranks fifth in the conference in scoring (16.5 ppg.), first in rebounding (9.6 rpg.) eighth in assists (3.6 apg.) and second in steals (1.7 spg.). As a team, the Red Flash sit second in the NEC with 76.4 points per game. They also thrive when it comes to crashing the boards and boast an NEC-best 13.6 offensive rebounds per contest. Last time out, they earned an 84-75 home victory over Bryant. In the win, senior guard Jamaal King led Saint Francis with a season-high 27 points while sophomore forward Mark Flagg scored 15 points and blocked five shots. The Red Flash return home for their next game to face their first-place pairing, Robert Morris on Saturday afternoon.
Knights Last Time Out
The Knights overcame an 11-point halftime deficit to defeat the St. Francis Brooklyn Terriers, 84-73 at the Pope P.E. Center on Saturday afternoon. The Burgundy and Blue used a 23-5 second-half run to overtake the Terriers and sweep the season series.
Darnell Edge spearheaded the attack with 25 points and seven rebounds on 9-of-16 from the field. Sophomore guard
Jahlil Jenkins added 19 points and six assists, while senior forward
Mike Holloway Jr. scored 14 points and sophomore forward
Elyjah Williams tallied 14 points and 10 rebounds for the Knights' first double-double of the season.
The Knights shot 69.2 percent (18-of-26) overall in the second half, including 4-of-5 from three-point range. Their second-half shooting performance came after making just 1-of-7 from deep in the opening half.
In addition to shooting 55.4 percent for the game, the Knights out-rebounded the Terriers 39-29 in the contest. The Terriers, who lost for just the second time on their home floor this season, were led by Chauncey Hawkins' 14 points.
Coach Herenda's Thoughts
"That second half was probably the best defensive half of basketball we have played since I've been here at FDU. We beat a very well-coached team in an extremely difficult building. I cannot be prouder of this group, especially coming off a difficult loss on Thursday night."
"What can you say about Darnell? He led us today from start to finish. I told him to be aggressive offensively and he obviously took it to another level. On top of that, our bench was huge tonight. Brandon, Oscar and Tyler all made key contributions as well. That was simply a great conference road victory. Now we have four in a row at home and all we need to do is continue to improve."
Up Next
The Knights continue their homestand this Saturday, February 16 when they close out their regular-season series with Bryant at 4:30 p.m.
